User reviews

Their First Mistake is a short that really embodies the essence of what Laurel and Hardy were about as a comedic duo. Hal Roach, the famous producer of many of their shorts along with a barrage of other successful ones for the period, famously stated how Laurel and Hardy complimented each other with their slapstick and behavioral tendencies, but what always drove me to their shorts as a means for pleasant escapism besides their inherent humor was how both characters were loyal to one another. It was as if they were all each other had, and no matter how angry they got at each other, they had to stick together, for where else would they go?

When Laurel and Hardy decide to adopt a baby to prove to Hardy's wife (Mae Busch) that they are indeed responsible and trustworthy, they are all they have, and while the short is frequently funny, it also proves this point as it goes on. Notice how even through anger and hostility brew between one another, there both men are, quick to recoup and try to do the right thing, despite going about it in the wrong way. Furthermore, Laurel and Hardy are breathlessly funny, finding a plethora of ways to be entertaining as well as thoughtfully engaging.

Their First Mistake embodies precisely why their careers and shorts have a timeless longevity.

Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Mae Busch. Directed by: George Marshall.

An above-average Laurel and Hardy short feature, this two reel affair is directed by George Marshall (later at the helm of many top-flight comedy features) and is marked, specially so during its initial two-thirds, by a greater emphasis upon character development than upon physical humour, to the work's advantage. After Oliver and his wife Arabella (Laurel/Hardy regular Mae Busch) have a violent spat due to his expenditure of a majority of his free time with Stan, the latter suggests that Ollie adopt a baby with which to occupy Arabella's hours, freeing the two pals to enjoy themselves, and Ollie immediately does so (following an optical wipe), but too late because a process server (Billy Gilbert) presents him with divorce papers along with a similar document to Laurel for "alienation of Mr. Hardy's affections." This leads to one of the better developed scenes from the duo's films wherein Ollie pastiches the Abandoned Maiden genre after his buddy tries to leave him alone to care for his new infant, a very funny and original piece of cinematic business that, in addition to a poignant scene when the men revert to boyhood while lolling atop Stanley's bed in his adjacent apartment, make of this a better than standard effort of Laurel and Hardy.

This Laurel and Hardy short, with the guys stuck with a baby they adopted to give Ollie's wife something to do during the day (loved that) was an eye opener for me when I first viewed it in the mid eighties, over a half century after it was made.

After the wife storms out, Ollie is holding the baby and Stan is going to leave. Ollie asks where Stanley is going. Stanley asks what does he have to do with the baby.

Ollie: "What do you have to do with it? Why, you're the one who wanted me to have a baby."

Stan: "Well, I can't be tied down to a baby. I have my future, . . my career to think about."

Ollie: "Well, what about me? What will my friends say? I'll be . . . ostracized."

Why are youth panicked into what do and not to do when obviously the same problems have been going on for longer than anyone wants to admit?

Thank you, Laurel and Hardy, for at least documenting it.

In this talking Laurel & Hardy movie Hardy is married. Laurel is also unhappy. With these two statements the short movie starts. Hardy's wife thinks he does to much with Laurel, he likes Laurel more than he likes her. When Laurel calls if they will do something nice tonight Hardy pretends that he is talking to his new boss. When the wife finds out she gets very mad. Laurel thinks he has the solution. They need a baby, because that will draw all the attention of the wife and Hardy can do fun stuff with Laurel again. Hardy thinks it is a pretty good idea and they adopt a baby. When they enter Hardy's home again his wife is gone. A man arrives telling them both that Hardy is sued for divorce and Laurel is sued for the reason of alienation of Hardy from his wife. Now they are stuck with a baby, their first mistake.

This is a very nice short. Of course a baby is an inspiration for a lot of nice little gags. The bottle with milk has a main part for those gags and Laurel makes sure every single one of them works. The usual jokes with tripping over things also work most of the time, although they are very predictable. It is quite an accomplishment that those predictable moments also bring a smile to your face. Like with most Laurel & Hardy shorts you will have a pretty good time.

This is a remarkable short, seldom talked about. The boys have been spending too much time having a good time. Ollie's wife, the wonderful though threatening Mae Busch, has had enough. She files for divorce and names Stan for alienation of affections (I wonder if there ever were any affections). She take off, but before this, Stan talks the big guy into adopting a baby, thinking it will soothe things. I guess there was a sale on babies at the local baby market. This is no help because now they have an infant child to take care of. From then on, it's nuttiness because the are so utterly incompetent and yet endearing in their efforts to do right by the child. As is usually the case, they begin to demolish the apartment through their carelessness and stupidity. There is one precious scene when Ollie tries to feed the baby without looking to see where it is. Some have criticized this film because of its open endedness, but with all that goes on, who cares. When one realizes how much these guys could do in fifteen or twenty minutes of screen time, they were even more amazing.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. The Boys make THEIR FIRST MISTAKE when Stan convinces Ollie to adopt a tiny baby in order to placate his ferocious wife. Arriving home with the infant, the Boys discover that Mrs. Hardy has left him for good - leaving Stan & Ollie to look after the baby. This, of course, is something they are spectacularly ill-equipped to do.

Not much plot in this little film - plenty of sight gags, though. Stan's preparation to milk the baby is hilarious. That's Billy Gilbert as the process server & Mae Busch as Mrs. Hardy.

I suspect that a few years after its released "Their First Mistake" might've not been allowed to show all the things that it did. Much of it is Stan and Ollie doing their usual stuff - with Ollie constantly irritated at Stan's idiocy - but their is a scene showing them in bed together with the baby. Maybe it was more acceptable since this was a comedy and thus not to meant to get taken seriously, but I can imagine that a number of people would've found it extreme back then.

Aside from that, it's a funny short, with no shortage of the pair's typical mishaps. As always, Hardy suffers the most due to Laurel's incompetence. The best scenes involve the lamp.

Good one.

I can`t rate THEIR FIRST MISTAKE as being one of the best L & H shorts . It`s basically a one trick pony of the boys trying to get a baby to sleep and .... well that`s it . It is impossible to dislike the slapstick pratfalls and there is a funny scene when Stan turns up at Oliver`s house to proclaim " I just came to tell Ollie that was me on the phone " but this was the only time I laughed out loud so I`ll only ever remember this as the one with the baby .

Oh hold on .... Mrs Hardy divorces Oliver because he spends too much time with Stan and later Stan and Ollie are seen sharing a bed . What an innocent time the 1930s were compared to today

"Their First Mistake" is restricted to just 3 very simple sets and the comedy does the rest. Released in 1932, Ollie's wife leaves him after she accuses him of deserting her for Stan. An almighty argument occurs at the beginning which leads to the early exit for Mae Busch as the irate wife. Stan convinces Ollie that adapting a baby would solve his marital problems but it is still too late. The boys are left to fend for themselves, baby and all. They truly need to rely upon each other as Ollie is being sued for divorce and thinks all his friends will ostracise him. Moments like this are more like drama and it compliments the comedy perfectly. Stan and Ollie in their efforts to care for the baby are so funny! It is a case of lurching from one disaster to another. The comedy builds very carefully but surely, just like with all Laurel and Hardy talkie films.

Mae Busch, Oliver Hardy's wife, thinks he spends too much time with Stan Laurel. They decide that what she needs is a baby, so they go out and adopt one. When they return to the apartment, they find Mae is suing Ollie for divorce and Stan for alienation of affection. All well and good but what are the Boys going to do with a baby.

This is sometimes cited as the 'gayest' of the Laurel & Hardy shorts, and there;s something in that, but if so, it raises the implication only to make fun of it. Stan and Ollie are almost all the movie; the baby gets one close up to establish it as real, Miss Busch is gone after the first minute, Billy Gilbert plays a process server, and director George Marshall appears briefly as a neighbor.

THe gags are good, but there's no real ending. Apparently Stan and Ollie improvised so many gags, there wasn't time.

Although future comedy director George Marshall was at the helm of this Laurel&Hardy short, it was not one of the better short subjects that the boys did. It also is one of the most daring in terms of the fact it is pushing the envelope in terms of their relationship.

Maybe I'm picky or this one kind of hits a nerve, but I think that infants and care for them is not that funny a subject. Mae Busch cast as Ollie's wife is complaining about him spending all his time with Stanley. She certainly has a point as Ollie once again goes out for someone who some might regard as more than a friend.

So Stan comes up with the brilliant idea of the Hardys adopting a baby so Mae can be occupied with the infant while Ollie goes out to frolic with Stan. Never a thought about getting a baby the way most heterosexual couples do it.

The next part blew my mind and the only way this makes sense is that this was the Depression and I'm betting that adoption agencies had their hands full and were giving kids away. Still I can't wrap my mind around the fact that anyone would just give Ollie a baby.

So they get home and Billy Gilbert arrives as a process server and Mae Busch is suing Ollie for divorce and Stan for alienation of affections. That usually is reserved for 'the other woman'. Just what is she alleging with Stan?

I have to say that I've seen it written that Laurel&Hardy are gay in a few critiques, but this is the closest I've seen it demonstrated in any of their work.

The rest of the film is these two idiots trying to take care of a crying infant. Wait till child welfare gets involved.

The boys and Hal Roach came up short here.

Mr Hardy is married, his wife disapproves of his friendship with Mr Laurel and sees neither of their lives going anywhere. When Hardy tries to sneak out with Laurel without letting her know she snaps and a large fight ensues. Laurel has the idea that a baby in the family will distract and placate Mrs Hardy and the pair go off to adopt. Returning home with the baby, Laurel and Hardy find that Mrs Hardy has left and is filing for divorce, leaving them, quite literally, holding the baby.

I love Laurel and Hardy. I found something wonderful about the fact that their shorts were made before even my parents were born but yet ¾ of a century later I'm still watching (and enjoying) their films. The fact that the humour is so universal is shown in the way they not only travel well but have transcended generations. Laugh for laugh this is not one of their best shorts, the reason being the lack of really strong routines.

The plot only allows for basic knockabout stuff and the final scene is not anywhere near strong enough to finish on. The only really strong bit is the `lights out' sequence but the rest is quite ordinary. Happily we have a talent like Hardy to lift things – for me he made this better than it was. His constant double-takes and looks of amazement to camera are worth the price of this film alone. Even lacking several strong physical scenes, he plays the dialogue for all it's worth and makes Laurel's clowning funnier than it is by complimenting it with double takes etc. That's not to say Laurel is lesser, but here he is much more clearly in a supporting role than in other films.

Overall this has some good moments and is carried through the rest by a well used and on-form Hardy, but it is not one of their better efforts – too much of it is ordinary and lacking their inspired wit.

Their First Mistake is the one where Stan and Ollie adapted a baby after Mrs Hardy says Ollie don't spend much time with her, choosing to spend it with Stan instead. When they Stan and Ollie get back, they find Mrs Hardy has left without warning and has filed for divorce. With this happening, they are lumbered with the baby and chaos ensures.

This short has a little more drama than some of the others I have seen and the funniest part is where Ollie trips over the cable for the lamp not once but twice! We also see Stan drinking out of the baby's bottle, Ollie not knowing it's him and not the baby.

Although not the funniest of their shorts, Their First Mistake certainly has its moments and is a must for any Laurel and Hardy fan.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

As a Sons of the Desert Grand Sheik I guess it is unusual to choose 'Their First Mistake' as my favourite movie but I think it encompasses most of the things that are so good about 'the boys'... The unhappy marriage; the suggestion that the boys' friendship is more important and more enduring than marriage; the apparently sensible suggestion by Stan that backfires on Ollie; the numerous situations that involve Ollie ending up the worse for wear; ...plus the reverse role dialogue where Ollie is left holding the baby and Stan goes to walk out "What have you got to do with it? WHAT have YOU got to do with it? Why you got me into this mess in the first place..." etc. etc. and the feeding of the baby scene and Stan's affection for the bottle and the dummy...! Altogether a Laurel and Hardy masterpiece! Best viewed, as with all Laurel and Hardy films, in the cinema (fortunately my club has access to a 66-seat private cinema).

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Consider 'Their First Mistake' as among their best, also it to me was one of their best 1932 efforts and among the better half of their output at this point.

Admittedly, the story is pretty thin and is pretty standard and the open-endedness of the ending may frustrate.

Despite that, 'Their First Mistake' is great fun, never less than very amusing and the best moments, such as the ending, being classic hilarity. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new and their lack of competence with the baby is never in doubt well before it happens but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. A lot happens yet it doesn't ever feel rushed or over-stuffed. Hardy's milk preparation is comedy gold and one of his funniest moments to me and it is hard not to feel for Laurel and Hardy in a very relatable situation here, it is not easy caring for a baby and that it did so well making something funny out of it in a tasteful way is to be applauded.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Their First Mistake' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable and Hardy is a delight here. The baby is adorable and avoids being obnoxious, despite the situation poor Laurel and Hardy find themselves in.

'Their First Mistake' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting acting from Mae Busch and particularly Billy Gilbert is solid.

In summary, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Seems like I am one of the few but I think that this movie is one of the best Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts.

For some reason I find the mishaps of Laurel & Hardy with a little baby very amusing. The boys get themselves into some hilarious silly situations when they decide to adopt a baby to save Oliver's marriage. That way Mrs. Hardy (Mae Busch) would be occupied all day and Mr. Hardy will have more time to spend with his good pal Stanley.

The situations with the little baby are all very original and hilarious as well. There luckily also is room for some good slapstick humor in the movie, which I love so very much about Laurel & Hardy movies. Most of the comical situations in the movie are rather stretched out, especially the ones with Stan Laurel but in this particular case even the stretched out moments in the movie remain funny throughout.

The dialog is well written and forms one of the most funniest aspects of the movie. The movie as a whole is filled with some good and typical Laurel & Hardy situations. Everything combined makes "Their First Mistake" one of the most pleasant and enjoyable Laurel & Hardy shorts.

8/10

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Well, I have to say that this 1932 short comedy film titled "Their First Mistake" was somewhat of an acquired taste.

Sure, it is a part of the Laurel and Hardy collection, but the contents of the storyline veers fairly much astray from the usual light-hearted slapstick comedy that most other of the Laurel and Hardy movies have to it.

And as for the comedy aspects of it, well it felt toned down, and it wasn't the usual funny contents that most other Laurel and Hardy movies had going on for them.

But I am sure that the diehard fans of the comedy duo will enjoy "Their First Mistake" as well. But as a casual viewer, then I didn't find this particular short film as enjoyable as most other Laurel and Hardy movies.

Sure, "Their First Mistake" was watchable enough for what it was, don't get me wrong here. But it just felt like something that fell short of the contents you would expect from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

My rating of "Their First Mistake" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Stan Laurel wrote this gem, which may have inspired generations of single parent movie themes...

In the past, Laurel and Hardy were stuck with animals; a circus monkey, a horse and a dog --why not try a baby this time around? Lay the blame on Stan, naturally, as he suggests a baby would "brighten" Ollie's already strained marriage to hot tempered Mae Busch! The whole thing backfires; Mae walks out and the boys have to take care of the baby themselves. There are some genuinely funny and clever scenes at play here, including Ollie feeding Stan a bottle of milk instead of the baby!

Billy Gilbert plays a hard nosed process server, handing Stan papers that name him in a lawsuit for alienation of affection. "She'll take you hook, line and sinker!" he exclaims. "I don't want to lose my hook, line and sinker!" is Stan's desperate reponse. Director George Marshall makes a gag appearance as a neighbor. Marshall also made an appearance in PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES (1932), which he directed and played a revengeful cook!

This is an original, one of a kind comedy that you have to see at least once, and somehow, someway it all makes sense. Get the dvd box set of their short films, but beware there are some European versions that will not play on American made dvd players.

Thank you to METV for rerunning these classic films nightly, like the old days.

The boys are at it again. Ollie's married to a domineering wife who doesn't want her husband hanging around with Stan because he's always encouraging him to do things with him.

Stan's read that having a baby in the house would cure her concerns. Ollie thinks it's a great idea and Stan replies "I'm not as dumb as you look." Ollie agrees and then realises what was said and... well the decision is made and a baby is introduced. Will this appease her? It's just one disaster after another especially with Ollie who has so many tumbles you'd think he might have broken a bone here and there.

I never heard that he did. It's always great to watch over and over. What a great team they were.